Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) was down 2.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $626.00 and last traded at $646.01. 21,964,565 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 30% from the average session volume of 16,938,041 shares. The stock had previously closed at $664.54.
More Meta Platforms News
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Meta is reportedly in early talks to lease computing power to Anthropic in a potential deal worth as much as $10 billion, which could turn excess AI infrastructure into a new revenue source. US judge won’t block Meta from laying off workers who filed AI discrimination lawsuit
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to frame Meta as a favored AI beneficiary, with recent coverage highlighting its agentic AI strategy, strong AI spending metrics, and a newly launched Muse Spark 1.1 model as signs it can monetize AI more effectively. Meta Platforms stock rises as Muse Spark 11 AI model debuts
- Neutral Sentiment: A U.S. judge refused to block Meta from laying off 26 employees while they pursue claims that AI tools targeted workers with disabilities or medical leave, keeping the lawsuit alive but removing an immediate legal hurdle. US judge won’t block Meta from laying off workers who filed AI discrimination lawsuit
- Negative Sentiment: The employee lawsuit and related reports could keep investor focus on Meta’s use of AI in workforce decisions, adding reputational and legal overhang. Meta Faces Employee Lawsuit Over AI Assisted Layoffs
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages have recently commented on META. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $830.45.
Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.8%
The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company’s fifty day moving average is $602.45 and its 200-day moving average is $626.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.63 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.25.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.63%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 39,503 shares of company stock worth $24,241,859 over the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the first quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $86,454,000 after buying an additional 112,000 shares during the period. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $322,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
Meta Platforms Company Profile
Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.
Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.
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